As New Show Prepares to Open, Theater Group's Executive Director Takes a Bow

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The executive director of a well-known arts organization in Vermont is taking her final bow, announcing an upcoming production of "9 to 5: The Musical" will be her last show at the helm.

Syndi Zook announced she's stepping down as the executive director of the Lyric Theatre Company, an organization she joined as a volunteer in 1980 and has led since 2004.

Lyric is a mostly-volunteer group that stages splashy Broadway-style shows twice a year in downtown Burlington. It boasts that it is the largest community theater organization in New England, and one of the largest community theater groups in the country.

Zook told necn she will look for work in another field, saying she thinks the time is right to hand the reins over to another person as passionate about theater as she is, who can continue Lyric's positive growth from the past decade.

"Musicals are back," Zook said. "I have to say that 'Hamilton' — along with the other 99 things that it did for Broadway — it also brought back a lot of interest in musicals. So we are more than prepared to continue to bring musicals here to the area."

Lyric Theatre's latest show, "9 to 5: The Musical," opens Thursday, April 6 at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington.

The comedy is based on the beloved 1980 movie starring Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda, and is about three coworkers who hatch a plan to get even with a sexist, deceitful boss who makes their work lives miserable.

The outgoing executive director said her proudest accomplishment was spearheading a capital campaign to help Lyric purchase a new building where it can prepare for its productions and teach theater skills such as set construction.

"What our new home really enables us to do is to pass that love of theater and those important theater skills onto the next generation," Zook said. "And Lyric is well-positioned to be a major part of the theater scene in northern Vermont for many years to come."